The mosquito coil workshop was not built on the side of the official road, but at the foot of the mountain across the fields, which was 500 meters away from each household.
It's not close, and the path is only a foot wide, making it inconvenient to travel back and forth when it rains.
But this was a collective request from the villagers, for one reason only: to keep it a secret!
These belong to everyone in the village, so everyone needs to take care of them.
Being too close to the official road would mean that if someone with quick legs were to sneak in, they would be spotted without warning. Now, with the ground in between, no one can spy on us.
Jiang Zhi thought it was a good idea; keeping the mosquito coil workshop a little further away from residential areas would also avoid too much dust disturbing the residents.
In the past few days, the village's manpower has been severely depleted by the requisition of other villagers, leaving only a few able-bodied young men.
Fortunately, building the shed didn't require much material. Errui, Xu Genqing, Tian Gui, Xu Genyou, and a few others, along with a group of women and children, started construction.
They cut down trees in the nearby mountains and collected straw from each family.
The foundation was dug out, and a half-wall was built, topped with wooden strips that were open for ventilation.
Stone platforms for kneading clay, perforated bamboo tubes for making extrusion strips, rows of drying racks, and drying sheds.
In just two days, a workshop covering an area of 200 square meters was completed.
There are ten workstations inside. Pressing the mosquito coil requires at least three people working together, and you can add more people if you want to do it faster.
It can guarantee that thirty people can work at the same time. Villagers take turns coming over to work for a few hours each day, so that the crops are not neglected and they can also earn money.
Making money is something that both adults and children are eager to do.
On the third day after the workshop was repaired, Errui and Qiaoyun taught everyone how to mix the medicinal paste, how to press it into trays and dry it, and production began immediately.
All of them were novices, and there were all sorts of problems when mixing grass powder and charcoal powder. The mixture was either too dry or too wet, or it would fall apart.
Fortunately, this mosquito repellent powder can be reworked an unlimited number of times; you just need to make it a few more times.
While things were in a flurry of activity, Jiang Zhi finally saw Xu Changming and his group return, along with the government's investigation into the main perpetrator.
Still using the meeting hall of the post station, Director Song held a reply slip: "The identity of the perpetrator has not yet been found. The household registration is currently chaotic, and some people are still unregistered. However, the county government has already registered them and will continue to investigate."
We've also visited the Du family you mentioned. They are indeed surnamed Du, but the lady of the house isn't from your Xu Family Village, and we don't know anything about this "Xiao Tian." She has nothing to do with this matter!
Jiang Zhi was stunned. There was a reason why the person who committed the crime in Qingquan Bay couldn't be found. It was impossible that they couldn't even find Xu Xiaolan, a living person: "You said that family's surname is Du, but how come the lady isn't from the Xu family?"
Song Tingzhang shook his robes and said with a serious face, "Magistrate Zhang had his yamen runners summon that family to the court for questioning, and they even searched the house, but they didn't find the lady you mentioned."
If you don't believe me, just ask Xu Changming from your village. He spent a few days in the county town; he should know better than anyone else!
"As for your pharmacy's tax payment, Magistrate Zhang said it can be postponed until the autumn harvest and paid together."
A murder occurred in Pear Blossom Town. If it were just a regular fight, he, as the village head, could handle it slowly and then report it.
Even Magistrate Zhang knew about this pharmacy. He had been running around day and night for the past few days, but in the end he got nothing and was even reprimanded by Magistrate Zhang for his incompetence!
Nobody wants to have a peaceful holiday. His daughter and son-in-law have gone back to their parents' home, and he hasn't had time to reunite with his family yet.
Jiang Zhi anticipated that Xu Changming would suffer a setback.
Unexpectedly, the "son-in-law" was so cunning.
Without a Mrs. Xu, and having even moved her home, it seems this matter is destined to remain unsolved.
Of course, this method can only deal with law-abiding government officials. When it comes to a male protagonist with cheat codes... hmph!
Jiang Zhi also admired Xu Xiaolan.
She squandered her birth family and abandoned them for decades, only to cause trouble once she showed her face and then go back to hiding.
Jiang Zhi hadn't figured out a specific strategy yet and needed to ask Xu Changming and his group what had happened before she knew what to do next.
It's really hard to fight with people. She'd rather dig two acres of land than get entangled with these bad guys. Thinking about it for three seconds would kill a lot of brain cells.
Back in the village, before Jiang Zhi could even go to find Xu Changming, she saw Pi Shi, who was already waiting for her.
Pi went with Xu Changming to look for people.
The food in Pingchuan County is really nourishing. After only three or four days, Pi's face has gotten fatter, but there's something wrong with the fat; it looks like it's swollen!
Before Jiang Zhi could ask, Pi covered her face and burst into tears: "Aunt Jiang, I... I shouldn't have been so greedy as to go to the city!"
This is at Wang Xiaoju's house. Liu and Wang Xiaoju have already heard about it once, and now they are comforting her by her side.
Seeing that Mrs. Pi was crying so hard she couldn't speak clearly, Wang Xiaoju stepped in to speak for her: "Aunt Jiang, this time Master Changming and the others found the Du family..."
As Wang Xiaoju spoke, Liu added from the side, and Jiang Zhi quickly understood the whole story.
After the thug entered the village pretending to be a relative, Xu Changming told the villagers that he wanted to find Xu Xiaolan, so he took Pi and a few others to the city in the rain that same day.
The road was difficult to travel in the rain, and it was already dark when they entered the city. The group was covered in mud, hungry and thirsty. Without waiting for a rest, Xu Changming immediately urged Pi to lead the way to the Du family.
The streets of Pingchuan County were not unfamiliar to the Xu family.
They had lived in Xujia Village for decades and would go to the city several times a year, especially in winter when they would go from street to street selling oak charcoal. They knew roughly where the residences of those wealthy families were.
The Du family lived in Qingliu Lane, and after a brief discussion, the group headed straight there.
When Pi arrived at Qingliu Lane, he quickly pointed to a large door and said, "Grandpa, this is the Du family that Aunt Jiang brought us to last time."
Xu Changming waved to his two sons: "You two go knock on the door, Xiaolan is also your sister."
Xu Changming's two sons are honest and law-abiding people, and their father usually takes charge of the household. When they heard about the family reunion, they immediately went up and knocked on the door.
After knocking for a long time, the doorman finally opened and asked who it was.
Xu Changming had just introduced himself when he said, "I am from your wife's family..."
"Bang!" The door slammed shut in front of Xu Changming, nearly flattening his nose.
Xu Changming was both shocked and furious. He kicked the door and shouted, "Open the door! I am your wife's uncle from her maternal family! Open the door now!"
He kicked the door loudly.
This time, the Du family's gate remained closed until the curfew gong sounded.
Xu Changming and his group were exhausted and hungry, but they dared not knock on the door again.
No one is allowed to stay outside after curfew; otherwise, they will be locked up in jail.
Xu Changming didn't want to go to jail, so he asked Pi to lead the way to the first courtyard Jiang Zhi had found: "Let's stay in that abandoned courtyard for one night and come back tomorrow morning. Anyway, it's warm now, so we can just make do for one night."
The Jiang family women could all spend the night in the abandoned courtyard, so could I, without having to spend money on an inn.
So, the group hurriedly went to the abandoned courtyard where Wang Xiaoju used to fluff cotton.
This time they were lucky; the courtyard was still there, and even the gate was open, with the marks left by Jiang Zhi smashing the lock still visible.
But as soon as the half-closed courtyard gate was pushed open, the first person to go in immediately ran out, covering his nose: "What kind of garbage is in there? You still dare to live in there?"
By this time, the moon had risen. Using the moonlight, the others went to the door and peeked out. They were immediately terrified and turned pale.
Several coffins were placed inside, with candlelight flickering in front of them—the bodies were being laid to rest!
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